Star appeal

Friday

You might get more than you bargain for if you walk up to Sally Cragin in a bar and use the old pickup line, “What’s your sign?”

Not only will Cragin tell you she’s a Libra, she will tell you what makes her a “typical” Libra and even give you friendly advice on where not to stand if you run into her at a Chinese restaurant.

“In many ways, I am a typical Libra in that I am constantly seeking to achieve balance, for myself and those around me,” Cragin said. “I’m also a typical Libra as far as random indecisiveness goes — don’t stand behind me in a buffet line.”

Cragin is very much a star child, in the best sense of the term. A Lunenburg native who now lives in Fitchburg and is a member of the Fitchburg School Committee, Cragin might be the only elected official in Massachusetts who is also a professional astrologer.

“I’ve thought about the 12 sun signs as much as a chemist thinks about the periodic table of the elements,” Cragin said.

Under the celestial moniker of Symboline Dai, Cragin writes a weekly astrological column, “Moon Signs,” which is featured in the Providence, Portland and online editions of the Phoenix and has an astrological segment at 11 a.m. Mondays on WCRN 830 AM. She has also written a series of astrological calendars and the book, “The Astrological Elements: How Fire, Earth, Air & Water Influence Your Life” (Llewellyn Worldwide), which was just published. Her new book is available at local bookstores and her website, moonsigns.net.

A practicing astrologer for 15 years, Cragin said “The Astrological Elements” is her tribute to Linda Goodman’s “Star Signs,” and she hopes her book finds a wide and curious audience, as did Goodman’s.

“I hope people get enthusiastic about having deeper and more meaningful relationships with others and coming to a place of understanding on others’ motivation that may have been mysterious,” Cragin said.

Cragin insists “The Astrological Elements” will give readers an inside track on how to get along with people at the workplace depending on your respective signs and, in addition, your co-workers will be impressed by your sensitivity and insight. What makes “The Astrological Elements” stand apart from other astrology-theme books, Cragin said, is it unites the 12 signs with their coinciding life elements (fire, earth, air and water). By uniting the signs and elements, she said it will bolster your communication skills and help you understand others’ natural temperament, whether you’re dealing with a friend, family member, boss or lover.

Not to get all Shakespearean, but Cragin, whose book has extensive sections on lovers and companions, said that while no match is perfect, there are such things as star-crossed lovers. She said there are certain combinations of signs and elements that are considered to be more harmonious, but there is always that irrational and unpredictable variable (aka human nature) that is often thrown haphazardly into the mix.

“In my practice, I occasionally find people who prefer flawed or challenging relationships. Some people in their charts have astrological propensities for, shall we say, stirring up trouble for themselves,” Cragin said. “I have had plenty of clients in their 20s and 30s, men and women, who know exactly why someone won’t work for them but need to see things through. Sometimes, that’s the function of age. People have big changes between 28 and 30. That’s when you want to grow up quickly.”

Cragin said we all should keep track of the moon when it’s waxing and waning and be aware of when Mercury is retrograde, which happens three times a year for about three weeks and is going on now through May 10.

“Mercury retrograde is glitches in communication. That’s why I wanted to get this (interview) moving,” Cragin said. “During Mercury retrograde, people should check all communications, try to avoid signing contracts, put off repairing your watch or electronic appliance if you can, and make sure you know where the warranty is.”

Sprinkled throughout “The Astrological Elements” are chart analysis of famous couples, romantic and otherwise, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, and Mick Jagger and Keith Richard.

Although not addressed in the book, Cragin used her astrological expertise to examine a recent sex scandal, a high-profile celebrity breakup, the leader of the free world and the country’s lousy economy.

Tiger Woods is a Capricorn and he’s certainly acting like one, Cragin said (and, no, that’s not because Capricorns are horny).

“The deal with Capricorn is they’re old when they’re young and they’re young when they’re old, and behaving age inappropriately is not unexpected with Capricorn,” Cragin said. “Tiger’s very hard on himself, and now he made the world as hard on himself as he is.”

As for America’s sweetheart Sandra Bullock and “the most hated man in America,” Jesse James, Cragin said there’s a lot of passion in their relationship. However, Bullock’s a Leo and James is an Aries. Arieses always act younger than their age, and the thing Leos hate most is shame, she said. There goes any chance of a reconciliation in the stars.

Like Bill Clinton before him, Cragin said President Obama was born under an aggressive and authoritative sun sign of Leo, and “typical” Leos are very comfortable in a leadership role, which even if you don’t know what end of a telescope to look in, one can easily agree with these two examples. Mars going direct and stopping its retrograde coinciding with the passage of the health care bill was no coincidence, she added.

As for the end of the country’s recession, the stars are telling Cragin “14 years from the crash is the bare minimum.” Yikes!

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